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      Casa Olivar is a Madrid apartment designed as a “sensorial refuge”

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      Designers Matteo Ferrari and Carlota Gallo have transformed a traditional two-storey apartment in Madrid, Spain, into a tranquil home for themselves featuring a pared-back palette of natural materials and crafted details.

      Casa Olivar is located in a typical corrala – a type of apartment building found in the old parts of Madrid, where housing units are accessed from external covered corridors.
      Matteo Ferrari and Carlota Gallo have designed their own apartment in MadridThe apartment’s interior was in poor condition when Ferrari and Gallo purchased the property, and decided to convert it into a contemporary home.
      The design retains some of the building’s historical features while reorganising the compact interior to create a series of light and bright interconnected spaces.
      Its living room is flooded with light via two huge windowsFerrari and Gallo describe the apartment as a “non-urban place, a sensorial refuge to reconnect with ourselves, regulate our emotions and disconnect from the hustle and bustle of the outside world”.

      The couple used a pared-back material palette to create a warm and comfortable atmosphere, making the most of the daylight that enters the interior through two large windows in the living room.
      Arched openings separate the dining area from the living room”The intervention is characterised by a spatial continuity and a warm minimalism,” the duo explained. “It seeks to elevate natural light and encourage the use of local craft materials, generating a close dialogue between light and materiality.”
      A central partition dividing the dining area from the living room was altered by adding a pair of lowered arches that echo the proportions of the facade openings.
      Aluminium kitchen fronts provide a counterpoint to the muted colour paletteLight from the windows passes through the openings to reach the kitchen, while the bedroom downstairs receives indirect illumination from a pair of openings in the floor above.
      Throughout the interior, the designers chose to use simple and authentic materials, featuring predominantly earthy tones.
      “The approach is to be honest with the materials, respecting their authentic appearance and textures while prioritising natural resources and local craftsmanship,” Ferrari and Gallo explained.

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      The apartment’s entrance opens directly into the kitchen and dining area, which is arranged around a sculptural table designed by the couple that features a textural Tadelakt plaster finish.
      Floors are covered with handmade terracotta tiles to create consistency between the spaces. The same tiles are used in the bathroom, with their varying dimensions giving each space a unique quality.
      The bedroom receives indirect illumination from openings in the floor aboveTables and display stands were created using stone salvaged during the renovation process, while the kitchen’s aluminium storage units provide a contemporary counterpoint to the natural tones and textures.
      Gallo designed the textiles used within the apartment to add texture and dynamism to the spaces. These include a draped nylon curtain that echoes the warm tones used in the bathroom.
      Draped nylon fabric acts as a shower curtain in the bathroomOther works of art and craft bring personality to the apartment, such as the washbasin made by designer María Lázaro and a hammock woven in Colombia using traditional techniques.
      Ferrari moved from Italy to Madrid in 2008 after completing his architecture studies at the University of Ferrara. He founded his own studio in 2015, which focuses on using simple gestures to create timeless and familiar spaces.
      The photography is by Asier Rua.

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      Renovated Mayfair pub The Audley is filled to the brim with art

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      Artworks by Andy Warhol, Lucian Freud and more can be seen throughout The Audley pub and its restaurant in London’s Mayfair, designed by architecture studio Laplace.

      The venue occupies a listed five-storey building dating back to 1888, which formerly functioned as a pub with rooms for staff upstairs.
      Laplace designed The Audley pub (above) and its restaurant (top image) in LondonNow, the ground-floor public house has been restored while the upper levels were converted into the Mount St Restaurant, complete with four private dining rooms.
      The renovation was commissioned by Artfarm – the hospitality company of Hauser & Wirth founders Iwan and Manuela Wirth – with the aim of upgrading the pub’s interior while preserving its original features.
      British artist Phyllida Barlow has created a colourful collage on the pub’s ceiling”The word Audley is English Anglo-Saxon for ‘old friend’ and the pub has been an old friend to people who live and work in Mayfair ever since it opened in Edwardian times,” said Artfarm’s CEO Ewan Venters. “We wanted it to remain just that.”

      “This area is so rich in culture and history, and where better for those stories to continue than at the local pub?”
      Mount St Restaurant sits above the pub on the building’s first floorFrench studio Laplace was selected to lead the pub’s redesign, having already worked on a number of Hauser & Wirth’s international art galleries including its outposts in Somerset and on the Spanish island of Menorca.
      In the ground-floor pub, the studio freshened up the woodwork and brought in a team of specialists who, over the course of eight weeks, hand-polished almost every surface of the interior.
      Restoration work was also carried out on The Audley’s 19th-century clock and fireplace, and a new chestnut-brown leather banquette was installed.
      Artworks cover every wall of the restaurantThe ceiling is now covered in a newly commissioned collage by British artist Phyllida Barlow. It comprises brightly coloured sheets of paper that were pasted into an abstract pattern, at points forming arch shapes that mimic the curvature of the pub’s windows.
      More artworks by the likes of Turner Prize-winner Martin Creed and Canadian artist Rodney Graham were mounted on the walls.
      The salt and pepper shakers take cues from artist Paul McCarthy’s Tree sculptureThe Audley sells traditional pub snacks while in the upstairs Mount St Restaurant, a full menu of classic London dishes is on offer.
      This first-floor space is jam-packed with art pieces including a self-portrait by Lucian Freud, a lobster print by Andy Warhol and an abstract landscape by painter Frank Auerbach that depicts London’s Primrose Hill.

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      The floor is taken over by a bold mosaic created by American artist Rashid Johnson and made up of different types of marble. Another American artist, Matthew Day Jackson, is responsible for the crimson-coloured dining chairs with wriggly frames.
      Art also inspired the restaurant’s finer details; the salt and pepper shakers are modelled after Paul McCarthy’s playful sculpture Tree while the lamps that centre each of the leather-topped tables are based on Swiss artist Sophie Taeuber-Arp’s work Powder Box.
      “We have created coherent spaces in which art and design flow naturally, avoiding the pitfalls of obsolete artistic or aesthetic statements,” explained Laplace.
      The Swiss Room is one of four private dining rooms on siteThe project also saw the studio create four private dining spaces on-site, which are available for hire.
      On the building’s second level is The Swiss Room, designed to celebrate the nationality of Iwan and Manuela Wirth, who founded Hauser & Wirth together with Ursula Hauser in Zurich in 1992.
      Here, the parquet oak floor was stained brown, red and teal-blue to emulate a watercolour by Taeuber-Arp.
      Palazzos inspired the rich look of The Italian RoomNearby is the Italian Room & Bar, which draws on the aesthetic of grand palazzos. Its walls are painted a rich mustard-yellow hue, while deep-green Verde Alpi marble from Italy was used to craft the countertop of the bar and the flooring.
      The building’s third level accommodates The Scottish Room with a nine-metre-long oak table at its centre surrounded by hand-carved chairs, each inlaid with a custom tartan designed by weaver Araminta Campbell.
      Directly above hangs a dramatic antler chandelier.
      An antler chandelier is the focal point of The Scottish Room. Photo by Sim Canetty-ClarkeFinally on the fourth level is The Games Room, which Laplace styled to have the feel of a “clandestine enclave”.
      It features tasselled ceiling lamps, a blood-red tufted sofa and a one-off rug made by Laplace in collaboration with the former assistant of French-American artist Louise Bourgeois.
      At this level, guests can also see the inside of the building’s turret, which features an erotic fresco by British artist Anj Smith.
      Plush furnishings fill The Games Room. Photo by Sim Canetty-ClarkeLondon’s affluent Mayfair neighbourhood is a hotspot for bars and restaurants.
      Among them is the recently-opened Bacchanalia, which features giant mythology-inspired sculptures by Damien Hirst, and The Red Room bar inside The Connaught Hotel, which is designed to feel like an art collector’s home.
      The photography is by Simon Brown unless stated otherwise. 

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      Concrete creates art-oriented space for CitizenM's first Miami hotel

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      Dutch hotel group CitizenM has opened a hotel in Downtown Miami in a high-rise building with multiple terraces that was designed to be a “3D art piece”.

      For the 277-foot-tall (84-metre-tall) building in Downtown Miami, Amsterdam-based architecture studio Concrete worked with Gensler as the local architect to carry out the design of the tower.
      Concrete worked with Gensler to create a CitizenM hotel in MiamiThe envelope features large swathes of concrete and glass organised in a series of discreet boxes that break up the massing of the facade.
      Since construction, much of the facade has been dedicated to a massive mural by American artist Jen Stark.
      The hotel was designed to showcase local artists”The architecture is considered as a 3D art piece with large colorful murals by Jenny Stark on every side of the building; by this the building is recognizable among all the other buildings,” said Concrete.

      “By using twisted boxes, you can experience the art from all sides.”
      Vitra supplied most of the hotel’s furnitureInside, a glass-lined entryway is meant to act as an “art gallery” as visitors access the set of elevators that go up to the lobby level on the second floor.
      The lobby space features a number of modular couches, workstations and plenty of light, with exposed concrete beams supporting a ceiling with wood accents.

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      Also on the second floor is the canteen area, which features a black-and-white checkered floor and a wraparound bar with a black marble countertop and wood panelling topped with a hanging bar cage that holds a number of plants.
      The 20-storey building has 252 rooms, as well as a series of meeting rooms on the third floor. The rooms are mostly micro-suites, with some of the smallest clocking in at less than 200 square feet (60 metres).
      The second storey includes workspaces and terracesDespite the small size, most of the rooms have an extra large bed that sits under the window with storage space underneath.
      The bathrooms are tucked across from a compact sink and wrapped in polycarbonate that has been outfitted with LED lights. These can be controlled through a tablet that manages most of the room’s functions, including the blinds, television and room services.
      Throughout the property, most of the furniture was sourced from Swiss furniture company Vitra, with whom the hotel chain has a long-standing relationship.
      The hotel features a series of micro-suitesFor decoration, the hotel held a competition that selected local artists. CitizenM Miami Brickell is also the first location to have a rooftop pool for the brand.
      Since its inception in 2008, the hotel chain has expanded internationally with 27 hotels, and the hotel plans to open two more in Miami.
      Earlier this year, CitizenM announced a project that aimed to make it the first hospitality company to have a hotel in the digital space known as the Metaverse.

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      Dishoom Canary Wharf recalls 1970s Irani cafes near Bombay Stock Exchange

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      Prolific restaurant Dishoom has opened its first new London venue in five years, featuring an interior designed around a “financial fraudster from the 1970s”.

      As with previous venues, restaurant co-founders Shamil and Kavi Thakrar teamed up with architecture studio Macaulay Sinclair on the design of Dishoom Canary Wharf.
      Dishoom Canary Wharf is the restaurant’s sixth venue in LondonReferencing its setting near many of London’s banking headquarters, the design imagines an Irani cafe near the Bombay Stock Exchange in 1970s India.
      “When we create a Dishoom, we always start with a story,” explained Shamil Thakrar.
      The entrance leads into a double-height bar”We imagined the fictional owner of the restaurant to be a financial fraudster from the 1970s who owns a cafe on Dalal Street, close to the Bombay Stock Exchange,” he told Dezeen.

      “This story gave us an opportunity to experiment with the aesthetic and feeling of the 1970s in Bombay, which, as you can imagine, has a rich history of financial intrigue.”
      The backdrop to this space is a high-gloss teal wallKey to the design is the retro furnishings that feature throughout the 750-square-metre restaurant.
      Vintage chairs, lighting fixtures and ornaments were sourced from antique dealers in Mumbai (formerly Bombay), carefully restored and shipped back to the UK.
      “The procurement process for each Dishoom starts with the sourcing trip,” said Ian Roome, associate director at Macaulay Sinclair.
      A vintage clock provides a focal point within the bespoke joinery of the barOne of the most important finds was a vintage diamond-shaped clock, which is set into bespoke joinery as the focal point of a grand bar that greets guests when they first arrive.
      According to Roome, this element draws inspiration from the lobby clock in Mumbai’s West End Hotel, which is located in the same neighbourhood as the Bombay Stock Exchange.

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      “The position of the 10-metre bar servery is, in our opinion, the key component in the restaurant,” he told Dezeen.
      “It creates an impressive focal point in the Permit Room bar, engaging with guests from all angles and viewpoints.”
      Restored vintage furniture features throughout the dining spacesThis double-height arrival space is naturally divided into zones by different furniture types that include low-slung lounge seats, banquette booths and cushioned leather bar stools.
      Rotating ceiling fans and rattan panelling – both Dishoom staples – also feature here, while the backdrop is a glossy teal wall that takes its cues from the Bombay Gymkhana.
      “We researched 1970s Bombay extensively,” said Roome, before reeling off a list of places in Mumbai’s Fort area that were visited as part of the design process.
      “They guide every single detail of the design aesthetic and tone,” he said.
      Retro wallpaper infills timber wall panellingThe dining spaces are more intimate in scale, set beneath a mezzanine-level kitchen.
      These spaces are filled with texture, thanks to parquet and patterned-tile floors, panelled walls infilled with retro wallpaper, and a mix of wood and marble tabletops.
      Seating upholstery comes in patterned fabric and leather in shades of green, yellow, brown and red. A family room sits off to one side, with colours that reference the stairwell of the Parsi Lying-In Hospital.
      The family room features green leather seating upholsteryThe Dishoom restaurants, which first launched in 2010, are based on the Irani cafes that were once widespread in Bombay but are now increasingly rare.
      There are now six Dishooms in London, including one in a former transit shed near King’s Cross station, plus outposts in Edinburgh, Birmingham and Manchester.
      Shamil Thakrar explained the concept in a 2010 interview with Dezeen founder Marcus Fairs.
      Old photographs hang on the wallsWith Dishoom Canary Wharf, Thakrar hopes to have created a stronger sense of 1970s glamour than in any of the restaurants.
      “It feels like one of the richest designs we’ve created,” he said. “The room furthest back feels to me like the Air India first class lounge circa 1973, although I’m too young to remember this of course.”
      “I also love the artwork, which works again to reinforce the character and the time setting of the protagonist in our story.”

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      Maison Lune gallery in California showcases art and design in residential setting

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      This art and design gallery in Venice, California occupies a former private house where interiors by designer Gabriella Kuti provide a warm, neutral backdrop for the works on show.

      Maison Lune was co-founded by French artist and designer Sandrine Abessera and Ukrainian fashion designer Lubov Azria, who set about creating a “dream home, where beauty rules”.
      Maison Lune is presented as a collector’s house, where all the art and design pieces are for sale”We want to build an alternative to traditional galleries, which are often perceived as too elitist and intimidating,” said Abessera and Azria.
      The duo worked closely with interior designer Gabriella Kuti to turn what was a private house in a protected historical building into a space to showcase a rotating series of exhibitions.
      The house has various terraces and balconies used to display works outdoorsThe gallery is organised like a collector’s home, with artworks and design pieces spread across multiple rooms that total 4,000 square feet (371 square metres).

      Their intention was to allow visitors to journey through the different rooms and floors, which are designed to exude a warm atmosphere.
      The interiors were designed to provide a warm and neutral backdropThe team didn’t need to alter too much of the existing interiors but added storage and lighting to help better display the works.
      “The space was already an amazing canvas for this purpose: high ceilings, lots of lights and skylight, white limestone floors,” the co-founders told Dezeen. “We created more shelving with LA artisans and added more lights.”
      The gallery’s debut exhibition is titled Transcendence and is curated by Gaia Jacquet MatisseArchitectural features like circular windows, spiral staircases and marble bathrooms all bring character to the gallery.
      The house also has a terrace with a small swimming pool and balconies for displaying pieces outdoors.
      The team added shelving created by LA-based artisans for displaying smaller objectsEverything displayed through the various styled vignettes, from artworks to collectible design pieces, is for sale.
      The aim is to spotlight a wide range of both established and emerging artists and designers, who work across mediums and techniques including painting, sculpture, photography, furnishings, ceramics, lighting, textiles and objects.

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      “The pieces showcased represent the varied and changing cultural landscape of identities, values and beliefs,” the pair said.
      Inaugurating the gallery is a group exhibition titled Transcendence, curated by Gaia Jacquet Matisse and including work by her mother, Sophie Matisse, along with artists Bobbie Olivier, Jeannie Weissglass, Edson Fernandes, James Fischetti, Angela Damman and Santiago Martinez Peral.
      Existing architectural features like a circular bathroom window add character to the galleryTogether, the show aims to “examine the concept of duality within our existence as humans inhabiting the earth, alongside nature” according to the team.
      This debut exhibition will continue until the Frieze Los Angeles 2023 art fair, which takes place 16-19 February, then the gallery is scheduled to host four showcases per year.
      Maison Lune is located in a historic part of Venice, California, next to one of the city’s canalsPresenting art and collectible design in a residential setting has become a popular way for gallerists and fairs to contextualise the objects, and make them more appealing to potential buyers.
      Galleries like The Future Perfect, which operates showrooms in LA and New York under the moniker Casa Perfect, and the Nomad Circle series of travelling design fairs are among those that have found success through this format.

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      Aurelien Chen retains references to China's “Red Era” in renovated cultural centre

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      Architect Aurelien Chen has transformed a former miners’ canteen in Handan, China, into a multipurpose cultural centre featuring interventions that respond to the building’s communist heritage.

      The canteen was built in the 1970s to serve workers at the Jinxing coal mine in China’s Hebei Province.
      It is surrounded by office buildings dating back to 1912 that were built by German architects and feature a distinctly Western aesthetic.
      The canteen was built to serve coal mine workersThe local government engaged China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) to oversee the sustainable renovation of the site, with Beijing-based Chen asked to head up the design team.
      The site is designated as a tourist destination with a focus on representing China’s evolution during the “Red Era”, beginning with the founding of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 1921 and culminating in the Cultural Revolution that took place from 1966-1976.

      Following a historical survey of the site, it was determined that the early 20th-century buildings should be restored to their original condition.
      It was renovated and refurbished by CSCEC and Aurelien ChenChen told Dezeen that he felt the canteen building should also be preserved as it complements the masterplan and style of the earlier structures.
      He explained that the brief for the refurbishment was to emphasise and recreate architectural elements that had been lost over time or were in need of significant restoration.
      The interior was developed around existing historical features”Instead of recreating a fake Red Era atmosphere, I preferred to keep the few historical traces that already existed within the building,” said Chen.
      “I developed the design and the space around them, attempting to subtly evoke the colours, materials and furniture of that time.”
      Vaults in the building were preservedOne of the most significant interventions is a flower-shaped, multipurpose furniture element located at the centre of the main hall.
      The outline of this space, which can be used as an information desk, exhibition space, stage or relaxation area, evokes a typical Red Era pattern that was painted on the original ceiling.

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      Other furniture in the versatile central hall includes wave-shaped benches and circular reading booths that are intended to provide a sense of fluidity and flexibility of use.
      The circular reading spaces are inspired by the hall’s original ceiling lights and incorporate integrated bookshelves to minimise their visual impact on the space.
      A flower-shaped multipurpose furniture piece sits in the middleExisting dilapidated internal walls were retained and became key features within the renovated spaces. A linear partition wall that was once the canteen’s serving counter was transformed into a reading desk with lamps and high stools.
      The bar area is located in a corner of the space and flanked by a concrete wall displaying Communist slogans painted in Chinese characters.
      The canteen serving counter is now a reading deskChen wanted to incorporate arches into the design to echo details found on a neighbouring historic building. This was achieved by adding a row of booths with arched canopies to the restaurant area.
      The booths also reference arched brick openings uncovered during the renovation process, as well as stone vaults discovered in the basement.
      A glass floor connects the vaults with the public areas aboveThe vaults were preserved in their original state, with minimal interventions helping to transform them into reading corners and exhibition areas. A glass floor maintains a visual connection between these spaces and the public areas above.
      Stairs leading to the basement were moved into an arch-shaped, metal-clad volume added to the facade. The external window openings were reshaped into arches that reference details found on the historic buildings nearby.
      Booths were given miniature arches in a nod to surrounding buildingsChen explained that, although the number of significant heritage details within the building were limited, each one was carefully restored and used as the basis for additions that enhance the link to the past.
      “I would say that new interventions tend to blend with the existing conditions, sometimes in a very immaterial way,” the architect added. “Their shape and space derive directly from original elements, revealing them; the materials, however, are more in contrast.”
      The interior also features undulating seatingOther recent cultural and leisure projects in China include a visitor centre with spiralling tiled roofs and the country’s biggest library, which was designed by Danish studio Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects.

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      Ten colourful and comfortable 1970s-style interiors

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      Featuring wood-panelled walls, plushy seating and soft fabrics juxtaposed with glossy finishes, this lookbook collects 10 interiors that recall the 1970s.

      Having been out of favour for much of the past five decades, the 1970s re-emerged as a design trend in 2022.
      The interiors listed below draw on a range of motifs borrowed from the era of glam rock, roller discos and Star Wars, with low-slung, upholstered furniture in earthy tones filling multi-use spaces.
      This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring interiors with Eames chairs, living rooms in Victorian homes and open-plan modernist living areas.
      Photo by Mariell Lind HansenPrimrose Hill townhouse, UK, by Studio Hagen Hall

      Architecture office Studio Hagen Hall channeled 1970s Californian modernism with its transformation of this north London townhouse.
      Classically 1970s materials such as velvet, elm and fluted glass were deployed alongside subtle contemporary elements including micro-cement flooring.
      Find out more about this Primrose Hill townhouse ›
      Photo by Anson Smart PhotographySRG House, Australia, by Fox Johnston
      SRG House was designed in 1972 by Stuart Whitelaw and was once the home of Australian modernist architect Sir Roy Grounds.
      Fox Johnston retained this heritage in its renovation of the building, installing wood panelling and thick carpet while also leaving parts of the building’s concrete fabric exposed.
      Find out more about SRG House ›
      Photo by Michael SinclairHelios 710, UK, by Bella Freud and Maria Speake
      Set inside the former BBC Television Center in London, Helios 710 is a penthouse apartment designed by architect Piercy & Company with interiors by creative duo Bella Freud and Maria Speake that seeks to capture the most vibrant aspects of the 1970s.
      Aiming for “bold colour, eclecticism and glamour”, the main living room sees glossy black sofas with burnt orange seat cushions contrast an emerald green carpet and hessian-covered walls.
      Find out more about Helios 710 ›
      Photo by Martin GravgaardSubstans, Denmark, by Krøyer & Gatten
      Local studio Krøyer & Gatten designed this Michelin-starred restaurant in Aarhus to feel like a Danish home from 50 years ago.
      The architects opted for retro-but-humble materials, such as simple brown tiles in the kitchen and white-painted brickwork for the bar.
      Find out more about Substans ›
      Photo by James Balston6 Babmaes Street, UK, by Fathom Architects
      The 1970s are often associated with a relaxed, comfortable aesthetic, and so the decade was referenced by Fathom Architects in its post-pandemic design for this London office.
      Warm colours are paired with tactile materials to create a cosier atmosphere than the traditional office, as a response to the increased prevalence of working from home.
      Find out more about 6 Babmaes Street ›
      Photo by Brooke ShanesyPalm Heights, Grand Cayman, by Gabriella Khalil
      Creative director Gabriella Khalil sought to mimic a 1970s-era Caribbean mansion with the design of this boutique hotel in the Cayman Islands.
      Sandy yellows mix with bold blues in each room, while collectible design pieces like Mario Bellini sofas, Ingo Maurer wall lamps and a chequered Ettore Sottsass rug feature in the guest lounge.
      Find out more about Palm Heights ›
      Photo by Timothy KayeYouth Lab 3.0, Australia, by Nickolas Gurtler
      This experimental space for cosmetic clinic Youth Lab takes on the daring task of balancing the brand’s minimalist identity with a retro style reminiscent of 1970s Milan.
      Designer Nickolas Gurtler paired a cooler overall colour palette and mirror wall with plentiful soft textures and shades of gold and olive green.
      Find out more about Youth Lab 3.0 ›
      Photo courtesy of HarmayHarmay Hangzhou, China, by AIM Architecture
      While it may look just like a 1970s office, this interior by Shanghai studio AIM Architecture is actually a retail store for cosmetics brand Harmay.
      It features a wool carpet by German brand Findeisen and suspended ceiling tiles, with a colour palette of muted yellows, oranges and browns.
      Find out more about Harmay Hangzhou ›
      Photo courtesy of StudiopepeClub Unseen, Italy, by Studiopepe
      During Milan design week in 2018, local studio Studiopepe opened a temporary private venue in a 19th-century warehouse that attempted to capture the spirit of 1970s nightclubs.
      “Those years are fascinating to us – the colours and materials were very glamorous,” the studio’s Arianna Lelli Mami told Dezeen. The interiors combined graphic shapes, grid patterns, pastel colours and metallic finishes.
      Find out more about Club Unseen ›
      Photo by David DworkindVesta, Canada, by Ménard Dworkind
      This pizza joint in Montreal, designed by local studio Ménard Dworkind, takes cues from the decor of 1970s New York pizzerias with funky colours and bold use of textures, as well as a smattering of vintage objects.
      White wall panelling, dark green ceiling paint, rich oak panelling and red leather seating come together to capture “the spirit of Italian family restaurants” from times gone by.
      Find out more about Vesta ›
      This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring interiors with Eames chairs, living rooms in Victorian homes and open-plan modernist living areas.

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      Michael Hsu completes cosy Japanese restaurant Uchiko Houston

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      Hearths found in Japanese farmhouses informed the interiors of this restaurant in Houston, designed by Michael Hsu Office of Architecture.

      Michael Hsu Office of Architecture used chunky timber batons to create a deep partition that frames the tiled reception area, creating the impression of a central hearth.
      A wooden lattice frames the entrance to Uchiko Houston”Inspired by the central hearth of Japanese farmhouses, Uchiko presents a sense of intimacy with a central focal point, which feels both old and new,” said the studio.
      “The rough material is manipulated in a refined manner to create an unexpected arrival experience.”
      Warm-toned materials create a cosy atmosphere in the dining roomsThe studio created this latest location for the Uchi brand as a sister concept – Uchiko meaning “child of Uchi” – after designing its space in Miami earlier this year.

      Some of the design elements used in the South Florida restaurant were adapted for this counterpart, including a latticed screen around the entryway.
      Booths are lined with blue patterned wallpaper by Camille WarmingtonThroughout the restaurant, warm tones of timber and Venetian plaster are found alongside cooler blues as in the banquette upholstery and patterned wallpaper by artist Camille Warmington behind the booths.
      The same colour was used by local muralists Alfredo and Vera Montenegro to draw the eye up to double-height portions of the ceiling, which gently curve at the top.
      Murals that echo the wallpaper patterns draw the eye up to the mezzanine levelA mezzanine level overlooking the murals includes a private dining space with a bar and sushi bar inhabiting opposite walls.
      Reclaimed walnut flooring runs through the two main dining spaces, positioned on either side of the hearth-like entryway.
      A chef’s table sits at the centre of the restaurantThe room is also punctuated by a large private dining area, as well as a chef’s table featuring a large, blue fringe light fixture.
      White oak and cedar furniture, including custom banquettes influenced by the work of Brazilian modernist designer Jose Zanine Caldas, are enhanced with bronze and brass details.

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      A long sushi bar stretches the back of the space, with a linear light fixture above highlighting the performances of the chefs behind.
      Custom-designed, cast concrete light shades by sculptor Brandon Mike feature in the entryway and above the dining tables.
      A long sushi bar runs below a linear light fixture”Bold design moves work with layered materiality to create a cosy dining experience,” said the studio.
      Uchiko Houston also has an outdoor patio and bar that adds to the already lively atmosphere of the Post Oak neighbourhood.
      Uchiko Houston’s outdoor patio adds to the lively atmosphere of the Post Oak neighbourhoodMichael Hsu founded his studio in Austin in 2005 and opened a second office in Houston in 2018.
      His team converted a 1940s church into an Asian smokehouse earlier this year and has previously completed projects that range from a Texas Hill Country house to Shake Shack’s headquarters in New York.

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